by Kenya Wright
My mother disrupted my thoughts. “Stop thinking too much.”
“I can’t help it.”
“You have to. Negative thoughts bring negative things. Be positive. He’ll get released and you both will...”
“What?” Tears threatened to leave my closed eyes.
“You both will heal and start over.”
“I hope so,” I whispered.
Sleep didn’t take me like it used to. Mom passed out in the chair next to me. My father came in, woke her up, and took her place. Fear filled his eyes and I had to turn away, scared to think about the things that might’ve been going through his head.
I hated having everybody worried about me. I just wanted all this craziness to end.
Early in the morning, my parents left to go get breakfast and take a shower in their hotel. I’d practically begged them to take time for themselves. There was no need for them to stress over me anymore. Gio had saved the day. He’d stopped Ru before he could hurt me.
In that moment when I began to pass out on the bathroom floor, Ru had opened the door and picked me up. Who knew what had been going through his sick head? He’d clearly planned to drug me before I’d come to his room. That was why he’d wanted me to drink from that glass when I first walked in.
Why would he do that? How did he think everything would be the same afterwards?
Maybe he figured I would forget him raping me after he drugged me. I would’ve probably woken up confused and thinking I’d gotten drunk and slept with him. Perhaps, he’d figured I’d be naked in his bed and Gio would walk in on it.
Gio would’ve never believed that bullshit.
Either way, Ru hadn’t been thinking rationally. That sick monster only wanted to hurt Gio and me, so I did my best to avoid trying to understand why it happened. I just had to make sure shit like this never happened to me again. Trust in humanity had left me. Any new man coming in my life would now be guilty until proven innocent.
And Gio? What about him?
I decided in that empty hospital room that I would never let him go. It would be hard at first. Illogical things sprang to my head. I blamed myself for him being in jail. If I’d only listened to him, we wouldn’t be in this predicament. If I’d only let him help me, maybe things would’ve been okay. I knew it was crazy for me to feel that way, but deep in the crevices of my mind, I still wondered how true those thoughts were.
A knock came to my door. Midnight poked his head in. “Your nurse said you were up. Are you okay for a few visitors?”
“Yes.” I rose into a sitting position. “Yes. What’s going on with Gio? Are they going to let him out? He’s been in there for days.”
“I brought his lawyers here.” He gestured as four suited men walked in. Three were black and the tallest one was white. “They have a radical idea, but I’m not sure if you or Gio would like it.”
“What is it?” I turned to the men.
The tallest spoke, wearing glasses and clearing his throat. “This has become a high-profile case. Utah’s judges, commissioners, mayor, and even the governor all have their hands in this now. Election year is here. Everyone wants their face on this, so they’re dragging it out for all the spotlight.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
The black man holding the briefcase spoke next. “It’s a sad truth, but I believe we have a creative way to push them along.”
“What can I do?”
He set the briefcase down. “Right now, the news is spinning this as jealous rage coming from a twisted love affair between the three of you.”
“That’s not true at all.”
“I’m aware of that, but no one knows this. We could read a statement to the media...from you, but still...”
“What?”
He looked uncomfortable as he said the next words. “I know you’ve been through a lot, but we think you getting on camera and talking about your sexual assault will push their hands to give Gio justice.”
I swallowed and let out a long breath. “Okay. How do you want to do it?”
“If you need a day to think—”
“A day?” I shook my head. “Gio’s been in there long enough. I want to do it now.”
The lawyers exchanged glances.
“What?” I asked.
Midnight stepped forward. “It’s all about impact, Simone. Right now, GioKnights have practically pilgrimaged to Utah and are camped outside the jail. Cameras have been recording every moment. Social media is watching. This has been trending every day and the crowds are getting larger and larger.”
“So, what do you want me to do?”
“Let us get you dressed,” Midnight said. “And then we take you down there to talk to all of his fans. Now, I know Gio would go crazy if he knew about this. He would like to protect you and keep you away from any media scrutiny. And understand that after you tell your story, there will be backlash. Some will call you a whore, slut...” He held up his hand. “I’m not call you that.”
“I know.”
“I’m just saying. Ru has his little fans from back in the day and his people. I’m sure they’ll paint you as causing it all. He’s going to want his legacy to remain strong and nothing ruins it like being a rapist. From what I understand, he still gets good money off his kid movies. Once you tell your story, he can kiss that and any job in the industry goodbye. He’ll be untouchable.”
“Good. He shouldn’t be managing any women. I don’t even want him walking the streets.”
“But are you sure about this, Simone?” Midnight asked.
I turned to his lawyers. “Are you all sure this will help Gio?”
They nodded.
“Then, let’s do it.”
It took a good hour for me to get ready. Midnight’s stylist brought in tons of new clothes. The lawyers picked an outfit that would make me more relatable to the crowd, yet also not have people judge me. I thought it was crazy, but understood what they were saying. People loved Ru and Gio. I was just a nobody female that had caused them to hurt each other. Many would be watching me, waiting to find something they didn’t like to justify the craziness.
My nerves rattled.
I could hear the possible accusations that would get slung at me.
“She’s a slut.”
“She was probably fucking them both.”
“How could she not have known Ru would do that? There’s no way this is true.”
“Why would someone as famous as Ru do that?”
“I don’t believe her.”
“She’s lying.”
“She’s lying.”
I closed my eyes as Midnight’s makeup artist did my face. I had no idea how he’d happened to have this whole team already on call. I figured he must’ve traveled with them.
Midnight looked at my feet and asked another girl named Cookie to take care of them. Next, she did my nails.
“I’m ready to go,” I said when the makeup artist was done.
Midnight waved the comment away. “Let Cookie finish those nails.”
“I’m not going to a ball, Midnight. I’m trying to get Gio out of there.”
“And so, you let Midnight do what he do. Trust me on this. It’s all about looks. This is all a mirage anyway. But listen,” he leaned my way, but not too uncomfortable for me, “you have to live life like you write a song. Be creative. Pick the line that’s your favorite and make that the chorus that others sing, when they see you.”
“What?”
“Basically, let Cookie finish those nails.”
I smiled for the first time since everything had happened. “Fine.”
He rose and brushed down his jacket. “Everything will be fine. The world will see that cute and innocent face of yours. They’ll hear about this tragic story, and if they have a heart, they’ll feel for you. They’ll demand that Gio should be freed. Artists and celebrity camera whores will jump on their social media, pretending to care and demanding Gio’s release.”
“And he’ll be
free?” I whispered.
“And he’ll be free.”
Cookie finished, and they wheeled me to the elevator and then to the car. Everything reminded me of Gio, even the damn wheelchair that they moved me around in. Hadn’t I just been in one days ago with Gio? He’d taken care of me that day, and now I had to do everything to take care of him.
It must’ve taken another hour to get to the jail. The sun had set. News vans lined the way to the front gate. Midnight hadn’t been overexaggerating. Hundreds of people chanted and held candles outside. There were so many signs.
“We love you Gio!”
“Free Gio!”
“GioKnights forever!”
“Jason is watching. He loves you.”
I breathed in and out and got inspired by all the love his fans had shown him. Did he know how much all of us worried and cared?
I can do this. I can do this.
Midnight had already ordered his people to make a small press area by the front of the county jail. Lights and microphones jutted in the air right in front of a podium. When I saw that, anxiety shivered through me. I wasn’t used to being on television, confessing something so godawful in front of thousands of people.
But Gio needed to be released and I had to have him next to me. I didn’t feel safe without his arms.
I can do this. I can do this.
We parked. Midnight helped me out. I walked to the podium by myself, covered in a wool coat. Midnight thought a fur would be too pompous. I wore a pair of jeans, a yellow sweater, and a matching cap. Apparently, red would’ve made me seem too seductive and whoreish. Black would’ve made me look like a villain. Green said I was money hungry. Midnight stressed that the yellow would give me a bright sunshine look in the midst of this news frenzied storm.
I can do this. I can do this.
As I made it to the podium, every big network stood in front of me, men and women of different races. CNN to MTV. BBC News to ABC. My stomach grumbled. I gripped the podium so I wouldn’t lose my balance. The crowd hushed. Many of the GioKnights came over to where the press stood and watched, whispering to each other.
I leaned into the microphone. “Hello.”
The sounds screeched. I leaned back, cleared my throat, and tried again. “Hello. My name is Simone. I was contracted by Giovanni Ferraro, who you all know as Gio. I came to him with the purpose of writing song for his albums.”
Everyone hung on edge, dissecting my every word. The lights felt like they were burning my skin and coming close enough to blind me.
I blinked and focused in front of me, not on any person’s face, making them a blurry existence. “I ended up falling in love with Gio, and I believe he feels the same way.”
Cold vapor blew from my lips. Shock went through the crowd. Others murmured a few things.
“My manager Ru came down to Gio’s house under the pretense that he was protecting my career, but that was not his intention. I now know that my manager had feelings for me, but these didn’t deal with love. They were the types of feelings that a very sick man has.”
Suddenly, I began to shake, but I wasn’t cold. A vision of Ru on top of me flashed in my head. I gasped and then the vision left, and the audience appeared. Many wore a shocked expression.
Jesus. Can’t you do this right? Just tell them. Tell them how Gio saved you.
“There are newspapers saying that this was a love affair between three people. I’m here to set the record straight.” Ru’s face flashed in my head again. I blinked it away. “I did not have any relationship with Ru besides a business one. And make no mistake about what occurred days ago. He hit me. He sexually assaulted me. And when I tried to escape, he drugged me. He had me on the bed. He tried to rape me, and would have, if not for Gio coming to my rescue.”
Reporters frantically scribbled in front of me. Others just stared at me in this transfixed manner.
“And so, what did Utah say to my hero?” I asked the crowd. “They locked him up. They replied that they weren’t sure what had happened, even though the cops came into the room and saw me on the bed, drugged out of my mind, my clothes torn. They were still unsure if Ru really hurt me even though Gio told him that Ru tried to rape me. The cops still waited for Ru to wake up and confess.”
I looked as many reporters as I could in the eyes. “And the whole time, the one person that saved me, the one person who stopped Ru’s madness from happening...he’s sitting in jail like a criminal. What is Utah saying? What is our government, our police, this governor saying? What other facts do we need? Ru confessed to the sexual assault. Drugs were found in my system, but because these are two rich, high profile men, everyone’s taking their sweet time to act.”
Someone gasped.
I looked into one of the cameras. “Release Gio.”
GioKnights screamed and chanted, “Release Gio! Release Gio! Release Gio!”
And then the reporters rushed in with questions, but I was done talking. I stepped back. Midnight’s bodyguards swarmed around me, keeping everyone back so I could get back into the car.
Once everyone got in, we drove away.
“You did good.” Midnight checked his phone. “People had you live on Facebook and Twitter. You’re trending. Release Gio is trending. Shit. Gio might be out by tonight.”
“I hope so.” I leaned against the door and watched all the news vans run pass my window. “Midnight, I don’t want to go back to the hospital.”
“I think the doctors want to do more tests.”
“I don’t want them to.”
He nodded. “You want to go back to Gio’s house?”
“No.” I shook my head.
“Where do you want to go?”
“To where everything was perfect for him and me—”
His phone rang, interrupting our conversation. He answered. “Yes. Are you sure? Okay. I don’t care that bail is a million dollars. Get him out. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.”
I couldn’t wait for him to hang up. “Are they letting him out?”
“Yes, but not until tomorrow morning.”
I sighed. “That’s better than nothing.”
“It is. Once he’s out, I’ll have the lawyers work on getting the state’s charges gone. Gio was protecting you. He might’ve gone too far, but he wasn’t trying to kill him.” Midnight shrugged. “At least that will be what we tell him. His lawyers said he might be on house arrest, but we could make the location that he has to stay at anywhere, as long as it’s in Utah.”
Unease sat in my heart. “Good.”
“So, where did you want to go?” Midnight asked.
“Not Gio’s house. I don’t think I could go back there.”
“Gio won’t want to be anywhere you don’t want to be. Where would you be comfortable?”
And then my mood brightened.
“I’ve got an idea,” I said.
“Should I be worried. I feel like Gio and you have already had enough excitement for a year. Let’s just bring in the new year strong.”
“It won’t be that bad.”
Midnight rubbed his belly and shook his head. “I can’t wait to get out of this motherfucking state.”
I grinned. “Utah isn’t that bad.”
“Shit.”
Epilogue
Giovanni
Music is
the poetry of the air.
~Richter
To my surprise, the guards came and got me from my cell and began the process of releasing me. I’d worn the damn prisoner uniform for so long it started becoming my second skin. In here, I barely ate, talked, or slept. All I did was write or lay on my cot and stare up at the dark ceiling hovering over me.
Still, I was shocked as I changed into new clothes they said Midnight had given them—a regular pair of jeans, black shirt, socks, and sneakers. It felt good to put on new clothes and walk away from the jail, but nothing would calm my nerves until I saw Simone in front of me.
I hoped she’d be outside, but she wasn’t. Instead, Midnight a
nd two of my lawyers hugged me. I could’ve been more grateful for their hard work, but all I wanted to know was if Simone had fully recovered.
“Don’t worry.” Midnight gestured to the limo parked in front. “We’re taking you to her. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I headed to the car. “Thanks for getting me out.”
“Your girl was the main one who did it.”
I paused and looked at him. “What do you mean?”
“Get inside. I’ll show you.”
I climbed inside of the limo.
He got in after me and handed me his phone. “Press the video.”
I turned it on. Simone stared back at me, talking about what had happened to her. The jail served as the background. Crowds of people swarmed around her.
“She was out here?” I looked at him.
“Yes, last night. We needed to make this public to get the governor moving.”
I finished the video. My heart ached when she described the things that Ru had done to her.
“I should’ve fucking killed him.”
“Let’s not say that out loud until you’re completely done with this case.”
“Fuck Ru.”
“Yeah, but how are you going to be there for Simone, if you don’t stay free?”
I shut off the video and gave him his phone. “I can’t believe she did that for me. How is she doing?”
He shrugged. “She’s a sister.”
“Meaning?”
“She’s strong.”
“Most women are strong.”
“Well, she’s the queen supreme. She’s stronger than any other woman I’ve seen you around.”
Sighing, I leaned back in my chair. “I can’t believe I let her get hurt.”
“Don’t beat yourself up about that shit. What’s done is done. Ru is a sick motherfucker. If not this, it would’ve been something else.”
“But, still—”
“Leave it alone. Let go of the guilt because I spent some time with your Simone and I’ll tell you something.” He twisted the diamond studded watch on his wrist. “She feels guilty too.”